First PC Grow - Need your solid advice!

[Ogonzo]

Hey all ..
I think I'm done building my very first pc grow, and I'm excited!
I wanted to set it up and run it a few days to get a temp and humidity reading (right now I plan on putting it in my basement where the temp was around 66 and I believe the humidity was around 43%)

The pc box itself is standard size. Here are the details:

• Lined with mylar (sunshade form my local dollar store)
• one intake fan @ 12V and .25A. The power supply for this is 6V and 800mA (I think I may be in trouble here).
• two outtake fans @ 12V and .25A each. The power supply for this one is 12V and 1A (I'm pretty sure I'm good here)
• all the seems are sealed with aluminum tape
• I have three 23W (100W equivalent, 1400 Lumens, 6500K) Daytime bulbs

I've got some pics, but before I start veging, I'm hoping I can get some sound advice on my build by some of the experts.

The seeds I'm planning on growing is Arjan #3 that I got from Greenhouse Seeds.

Here's some pics:



My big concern is where the exhaust fans are located, I have one on the back and one on the side. The one on the side is impacting where my lights go, and where is it right now, I'm afraid that it's way too high in the cabinet.
I want to be sure that I have good ventilation, and I'm afraid I overdid it.

Don't be afraid guys, shoot from the hip! I can take it.

 

[n0tmycupoftea]

First off, I'm no expert and I am currently towards the home stretch of my first grow, so I can share my experiences so far and hope an expert will also chime in for ya.

1) Exhaust fans are perfectly fine where they are and I would actually recommend putting them there on any PC grow box. Reason being is that heat rises and the exhaust fans being so close to the lights can dissipate the hot air as your intake fan brings in cool air. On my current personal setup, I have 1 upper exhaust fan (140mm doing 120CFM) and 2 intake fans (80mm doing 37CFM ea). I read somewhere that if it's too hot to leave your hand in between your lights and the plants leaves then its too hot for the plant. If this is true then having an exhaust fan where it is will definitely help!

2) Your voltage is only going to hurt you depending on your fans specs. Generally you want your exhaust fan to be pulling a decent amount of air out as well as your intake fans pulling cool fresh air in. Now if you have a 120mm fan doing 80CFM and you only got 6V, you're not going to be doing 80CFM's which could hurt you or it may not. Depends on your environment, how cool the general room will be, how big your PC case is, etc.

I have a 1'4" x 1'4" x 7" (Length x Height x Width) PC case and with 2 small intake fans and 1 big exhaust fan my temps were steady in between 71-80 with rh of 26-36 just to give you an idea.

 

[Ogonzo]

Hey n0t, thanks for the solid!
i just tested my pc grow (letting it run 24 hrs), and I notced that my intake fan was unplugged - doh!
After 24 hrs, the temp was 77 and my humidity is 44%.
question is - is this good temp and humidity to start?

Thanks again in advance guys!

 

[Ogonzo]

So I planted my seeds yesterday on a 18/6 cycle, went to check up on them only to realize that my lights have been off for what I think is longer than 6hrs, the temp dropped to 66 and the humidity was mid 50's. I'm not sure if this is good or bad - any ideas?

 

[lilroach]

I hate to be a nay-sayer.....but I've been surfing grow journals for awhile now and I've never seen a computer case grow ever finish. I'm a computer tech and my first instinct was to do what you're doing (I have dozens of computer cases laying around)....but having a few grows under my belt, I cannot see anything of substance coming from growing in such a small space.

I hope I'm wrong about yours though.....growing weed is fun.

You should have at least a 2'x2" area for one plant...and at least 2-3' tall.

 

[Ogonzo]

Hey lilroach,
nay-say away ... I'm good with all sorts of feedback.

This is my first grow and pretty much used stuff that was lying around the house. Having never grown before and and when ever I did grow (other than weed), my brown thumb took over.
I'm only looking for personal, not for medical or for profit. If it doesn't work, I'm really only out a few bucks and some time. I still have a few seeds at home and I just got my hands on a 2x3x4 bedside table that I might use.

Are you growing now? Any advice you can give to a newbie?

 

[lilroach]

Growing weed takes patience. You will stare at your plants 4-10x's a day. You will over-water, over-nute, burn your plants on the lights, and probably harvest too soon.

The bigger area is a good start. You don't have to spend a ton of money to grow weed. I've seen amazing grows on here with a couple of CFL bulbs and probably $20 invested in the other stuff. Craigslist will be your best friend as far as equipment. I bought two cabinets for a total of $45, and rigged 'em up with the same fans you have to pull the air out. If you're working with very limited space, the CFL's, or more preferably a 2' florescent HO grow light (Home Depot has one for $99 and free shipping) as florescent tubes seem cooler than CFL's. If you go to Craigslist and go to the "farm and garden" section and do a search for either "grow" or "T5", and look every day, you'll find some great deals.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. Please don't mistaken me for an expert...I have all of two successful grows under my belt...but I'll do my best not to lead you the wrong way.

 

[Ogonzo]

I woke up this morning to cloudy skies, rain, and just a yucky spring day. I went about my normal routine (shit, shower and shave), and then checked on my girls and to my surprise - two of them have sprouted!! I was just about to germinate my two remaining seeds and give up on the three I had planted. I'm soooo happy!

Now I'm nervous, I know I have to let them veg for a bit, but not really sure how long. I was debating on doing 12/12 only because I heard this flowers quicker and I though this might give me a better idea on how to take care of them. Should I keep them on 18/6 and switch to 12/12 when they are ready?

Any ideas?

Here are some pics!

 

[Ogonzo]

Alright guys .. I had a big fear that my girls were dying on me, I checked on them last night and they were looking pretty brown.
This morning I woke up and my girls were green and I could see them stretching to the light! The temp at night is high 60's and the humidity is in the high 40's, should I get a humidifier in there? Maybe a heater?

Here they are:

 

[lilroach]

LOL......Weed can withstand high and low temps pretty well. I have a friend doing an outdoor grow and it was 38 degrees out last week and they didn't crap out.

Your seeds at this point only needs an occasional watering, not all that much light at the moment, and an owner that doesn't freak out and over analyse everything. Your plant knows what it's doing. I would suggest the next time you plant your seedlings to put more soil in the party cup.....other than that, you're doing fine.

 

[lilroach]

I'm assuming that you put drain-holes in those cups.

 

[Ogonzo]

Yeah ... Each cup had about 12 holes in it. I'm only watering about a tbsp every other day now. I also have a cup of water in the case for added humidity.
I checked in them this am and the two are looking really good! The third didnt make it - RIP.
The soil was pretty damp this morning so I skipped watering her, might be a different story once I get home from work.

Ill upload some pics later.

 

[Ogonzo]

Ok .. here are today's pics.


The wife and I were talking last night, what to name the girls .. anyone got any suggestions?
I was thinking Dweezil for one ... What do you think?

 

[Ogonzo]

I was just looking at these pics .. should I add a little more damp soil to the cups? Maybe this will help strengthen the stem and provide more moisture control?
Thoughts?

 

[lilroach]

As I told my ex-wife...."your cup size is fine". You're good on the soil.

 

[Ogonzo]

Thanks man .. I appreciate it ..
I'm thinking of building a second cabinet, something bigger than a PC. I just find it a pain in the ass to take the side of - the case I got was a real cheap one. I want to be able to have one or two plants that I'm able to alternatively crop to get a constant supply. What do you guys do in this case here?

 

[lilroach]

I'm just using this as an example....it was on Craigslist for $50. I have no idea what your reasons are for a stealth grow, so it's hard to make suggestions to what will work for you. Find a used furniture store and wander around and let your imagination find what will work for you. I have two veg cabinets, one is 25" wide and 20" deep, the other is 32" wide and about 19" deep....both are about six feet tall. I can grow two plants in each comfortably until they get to about 20" and then things get pretty tight. So if you're going to grow from beginning to end in something like I have, you would want to put 'em in 12/12 when they are about 10" tall.

 

[Ogonzo]

I've gotta go stealth because I've got two mosey kids that I don't want them to know whatbim doing and another kid whom I don't want stealing my stash .. Lol!

Space is a big issue as well. Family of five living in a 1400 square foot house doesn't leave much room for an armoire like that. I do have a wardrobe closet that I could use, it's close to eight feet tall and I could have three compartments in that. I'm just not sure how much my electric bill will rise with a set up like that.

Part of me is not sure if I want to go that big, I kinda like the idea of a small compact grow.

Ive got some space on a granny shelf in my garage, but it gets damn hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Another option popped into my head, I have a freezer that is not being used in the garage, maybe I can talk the wife to letting me use that!

Mmmm time to roll a joint and talk to her after we smoke it!

Thanks for the comments llroach! It means a lot

 

[lilroach]

Now I understand. I've had to wait over twenty years before life let me grow weed. Kids and no place to grow kept me from doing what I'm doing now. There are definite advantages to being an empty-nester.

I don't have any warm and fuzzy feelings about a computer case grow. The amount of effort compared to the results you'll probably get is up to you, but you are very limited in what can be produced.

My only suggestion is that you team up with a very trusted friend that has a place to grow and combine resources to grow something of good quality and some decent yield. The key word is trusted....as you trust them not to "show and tell" with all their friends.

 

[Puffncough]

Nice case man, I got a few old PCs laying around I really want to turn into cloning rooms or something. I just started my first grow in my own desk, i've killed two seeds off the bat not reading into germing before trying to plant my seeds and what not. I'm about three or four weeks into veg on my first grow and just starting LST for height issues.

She looks good so far, I also started in SOLO cups for the first two weeks but I did not water once, I read somewhere it could do some harm (the soil retains enough nutrients from the initial watering).

If you have a freezer that would be golden(could add a lock), I've been searching for a mini-fridge as I saw a really nice setup on these forums. I've seen someone yield 1.5oz from just a solo cup inside a PC case, deff worth wild imo.